Adolescent Depression: Figures Never Lie

Figures never lie and they are perhaps the best means to highlight certain facts and when they are brought to the notice of the general people leave a lasting impression and also gains the attention of all who learn about what the figures are saying. There no doubts that figures are nothing more and nothing less than concrete concepts that have the power to sway even the most skeptical of minds, and it will even show the young generation the true picture with respect to adolescent depression.

Twenty Percent Teenage Sufferers

The first thing that will make you sit up and take notice about figures pertaining to adolescent depression is the news that nearly a fifth of the teenage population in the US has experienced a form of clinical depression, even before having gained full adulthood. Not only that, but there are about ten to fifteen percents of teenagers that have showed symptoms of adolescent depression and another five percent of the teenage population will have suffered from significant depression.

Another alarming aspect to adolescent depression is the fact that there is not much social acceptance when it concerns teenagers with such a condition, and what's worse is the fact that as many as eight percent of teenagers will have experienced depression at least once a year. This is alarming because the national figures of the general population suffering from depression are only a mere five percent.

When a person suffers a bout of adolescent depression it will generally last for about eight months and teenagers are also at risk that the subsequent attack of adolescent depression will strike them within a mere two years and the chances of this happening are about twenty to forty percent, and there is also a seventy percent chance that they will experience another attack of adolescent depression before they have even reached full adulthood.

Another feature of adolescent depression is that quite a few teenagers will suffer from attacks of seasonal depression that is most likely to strike them during the wintertime and also in places where the altitude is on the high side. And, even the weather can play a significant part in the onset of seasonal depression, which means that teenagers also need to worry on this count.

Other figures related to adolescent depression also reveal that dysthymia or a mild form of depression that lasts for a long time will affect about two percent of teenagers and a like percentage of teenagers would also likely suffer from bipolar depression when they grow older. In fact, it is thought that as many as fifteen percent of teenagers that have suffered from major depression would later on be at risk of developing bipolar depression.

Thus, it is safe to say that adolescent depression will affect teenagers even despite their social background, income level, gender as well as race or even their achievements and that adolescent depression is very common mental health problem affecting teenagers in the US.